Me On A Tuesday - Happy New Year

 

Source: Internet

What did you do in 2023 that you've never done before? Late in the year we discovered a new to us tea café. We are excited for them to return from Christmas holidays in mid January.  On my own I started attending the free adult craft workshops at the library. Easy crafts that you can make in an hour. It is fun for the adult company.

Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? I don’t make resolutions. In 2023 I worked with my OLW phrase of More Or Less.  I felt this phrase & I worked well throughout 2023. Although I’ve decided not to stress over picking OLW or phrase for 2024.

Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, my friend gave birth to her second son in June.  

Did anyone close to you die? Yes, one of my older brothers died January 2023.

What would you like to have in 2024 that you lacked in 2023? For me, less anxiety & fewer emergency needs for Mr Man’s eyes.

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Still fitting into my clothes without the waistbands getting tighter.  I held my counsel (tongue) & tried to apply the wisdom of taking it to prayer rather than the telephone.

Did you suffer illness or injury? Not sure if this falls into illness, but I struggled & continue to struggle with sleep.  Anxiety & panic attacks happened a lot this year, which I know play into my inability to get quantity & quality of sleep.

What was the best thing you bought? I got an Oral B Pro electric toothbrush for my birthday. Now I get that just been to the hygienist clean feeling after every brush. The bonus with this gift was that I got replacement heads to last me for two years!

Where did most of your money go? Maintenance of our home.  Food was a close second. On the food front, Mr Man & I joked that if prices continue to soar, we may have to each eat on alter days.  I don't know how many families are doing it.  But with all joking aside, we definitely upped our contributions to the food bank as we counted our blessings of not being hungry.

What did you get excited about? The Coronation of King Charles III on May 6^th.  While I still mourn the passing of our great Queen Elizbeth II, I’m not disliking our new King (& Queen Consort).  My only comment to the Royal Family is, Catherine I’m done with the pantsuits.

What do you wish you’d done more of: more of even close to home adventures. And more walking.

 What do you wish you’d done less of: Fretting, worrying, brooding. As a child, my Gran said I could brood for Wales. (??) 

 How did you spend Christmas? Quietly at home.

 What was your favourite TV show: no longer a favourite but I continue to watch Coronation Street. Oh it is horrible writing IMO, I watch to be entertained, not lectured at.  I am giving serious thought to quitting this show. We watch a lot of shows on Brit Box; current ones were Vera & Shetland.

 What was the best book you read in 2023? I did not have a favourite of the year, I read a lot of books that made me feel I wasted my time or just made me feel, OK, so.  A few of the self help/decluttering books that I read, gave me one or two points, but that was it.  I'm done with decluttering & organizing books & videos  I re-read several favourites to excite me about reading.

 What was your greatest musical discovery of 2023? MecryMe’s old but new to me song, Greater.

What did you want and get? I wanted to get a handle on my crafting clutter/stash & I did. I feel ready to continue with the using up of stuff. And not been so over whelmed with choice, I think I created more layouts that I like.

 What did you want and not get?  A horse friend.

 What was your favourite film this year? I cannot think of one, so that says a lot.  A friend loaned me her copy of the Bridgerton - Queen Charlotte series & although there is almost no historical truth in this, I still quite enjoyed.  Netflix does not spare the cash on costumes.

What did you do on your birthday? Nothing much, tea party at home.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2023? I did make an effort to wear more of my clothes rather than just grabbing jeans & a t-shirt. I tried that old sage decluttering wisdom of turning the hangers backwards & every time you wear something put it right way around.  Thankfully as the year ends I can see only one thing that is still sitting backwards & that’s my New Year’s Day blouse, but it will get turned around today.

What kept you sane? Crafting; scrap booking & card making. Gardening helped a lot. My cats bring me a lot of joy & love.  I need to ensure I do more walking this year to add to my choices of sanity inducing activities.

What political issue stirred you the most. Oh there were many & most are too sensitive to discuss here. 

Who did you miss? My two best friends, both alive & well but living a long way away from me.  Regular chats are great, but I miss being in their presence.

Who was the best new person you met? I did not meet anyone new, but I was in a different group for my ladies bible study & I got to know a couple of ladies I had only ever said hello to.  We were known as the laughing group & our discussions about the first 14 chapters of Exodus were never dull. One thing I gleaned from our study was that each of the plagues were tied to a deity that the Egyptians worshiped. 

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2023.  We now know that our cats are both allergic to poultry & grain based food.  When we finally switched them to a fish no grain food the throwing up stopped (except for fur balls) & of course this is the really expensive food.

Wishing you all a wonderful 2024.  We get a bonus day this year, let's make it count  💝